Semua Bab The Price of a Second Chance: Bab 121 - Bab 130

I was afraid to change.The fear was not of pain, nor the loss of control itself. It was what would come later, when I could no longer deny to Naomi or the city that the monster existed.That night, the cafeteria still smelled of cleanliness and cold coffee. The stacked chairs, the deserted street outside. Naomi gathered clothes, insisting on acting as if it were just another end of the day. But I couldn’t. My skin burned as if the wolf brushed under it, asking for passage."You’re shaking," Naomi said, glancing."I know it.""Is it because of them?"I shook my head, clenching my fists. "No. It’s because of me. I haven’t moved in days. The more secure I am, the harder it gets. The body snakes. The wolf snakes."She dropped the cloth, walking to me. "Then change.""It’s not that simple," I said. "What if I move in here? What if someone sees? Naomi, they already believe I’m a danger. If I turn in the middle of the city, it will be the confirmation you were waiting for."She held my arm

And I changed again.There was no choice. The body gave me no respite, and the feeling was that my own skin would tear itself apart if I kept trying to contain it. Every muscle throbbed, every breath came short, as if there was not enough air in the world to keep me human.The chamber was in the back, behind a heavy, iron-reinforced wooden door. I had built that space myself years ago, when I realized that I could not depend only on the forest. A place to hold the wolf when there was no other way out. A prison that I had made for myself.I closed the door behind me and turned the lock. The metallic sound echoed as a warning: no one would enter until I left. If I could get out. The transformation came before I even prepared. The bones cracked, the skin burned, and a roar escaped from my throat, low, restrained, but full of anger. Not from the city, not from Casper, but from me.Falling on my knees, I rested my hands on the cold ground. The earth under my fingers crumbled when the claws

I didn’t sleep that night. Even after we left the chamber, even with Naomi by my side, sleep did not come. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt again the crack of the bones, the heat of the skin tearing, and the wolf pushing against the bars. And more than that, I felt pleasure in it, and this pleasure was what terrified me the most.When the sun rose, clarity seemed a punishment. I opened the cafeteria early, but there was no energy in the body. Naomi insisted on staying, despite the dark circles. Maybe to watch. Perhaps because she really believed I needed her here. Anyway, I did not argue.The first customer came in, bought coffee without even looking at me, and left quickly. The second did not go beyond the door: he only peered inside and left. The third, a teenager, came in laughing low and filmed me with his phone while ordering an espresso. "It’s to prove to others that you haven’t eaten anyone yet," he said mockingly. I felt my nails tremble under the skin. Naomi put her hand o

Closing the cafe by myself had become routine. Naomi wanted to stay, but I insisted she go and rest. I needed silence. At least, that’s what I told myself. The truth is, I didn’t want her around when I lost control again.The lights went out one by one, until only the reflection of the moon in the glass remained. The wood smelled of old coffee and disinfectant. It was a smell that should be familiar, but that night it seemed strange, sour, as if even the walls were judging me. That’s when I heard.Steps. Fast, muffled, outside.My body reacted before my mind. Nails clanged under the skin; breathing was short. I knew the sound of the approaching hunt, but this time, I was the prey.The first shrapnel came from the front window. The glass broke into a thousand pieces, the noise cutting the silence. Two hooded men entered simultaneously, followed by a third who threw something to the ground. The smell of gasoline spread so fast that it almost suffocated me."This is where the monster hid

I woke up before the sun. Not that I had really slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the face of someone I had already hurt. I heard it; I listened to my own breath tearing, but I heard mostly the screams. Not yesterday’s screams. The old echoes. Those of my childhood. The sound of my father losing control, and I swore that I would never be like him.Only that now the whole city saw me exactly like this.The headlines were on all the screens of the cafe when I arrived earlier to open. One of the neighbors had glued the newspaper into the glass as if it were a trophy. "Blood Monster Attacks in Local Cafeteria." The photo was blurry, but you could recognize it. My body half transformed, eyes lit, mouth too open. It seemed a caricature of who I am.The tables filled up fast that morning. Curious customers, some I had never seen before. They entered just to order a small coffee and watched me as if I were an animal trapped in a glass cage. Every movement of mine was followed. The cup